Data Aggregator Validation

Validate Clinical Data Streams for Use in Reporting and Other Quality Programs

Benefits

Eligible organizations

Any data stream that meets the standards of the program can be validated by NCQA. The validated status is conferred to the data stream. Organizations that are responsible for certain standards as part of the validation will earn a Certified Data Partner status for Data Aggregator Validation and can advertise themselves as supporting the NCQA Data Aggregator Validation program. There are two statuses that successful participates can achieve.

The Program Journey – Now offering FHIR®

The first step to validating a data stream is a discussion with an NCQA program expert. Purchase and review the program resources and conduct a gap analysis against the program requirements to ensure you will meet the program requirements. Once ready, submit your online application.

Align your internal processes and policies with the three primary validation activities of the Data Aggregator Validation requirements.

  • Process standards review: These standards focus on how the data are managed throughout the process. Requirements look at things like how the data are ingested, processes for managing the validating data, coding integrity, quality assurance and change management, governance and data security.
  • Primary Source Verification (PSV): The PSV process verifies that the information in the final CCD or FHIR® file matches the actual original primary source data.
  • Conformance to the NCQA guidelines: Output CCD or FHIR® files must conform with the CCD implementation guide. Validation can take anywhere from 12-18 weeks depending on the number of clusters and complexity of the validation.

Offering Both CCD and FHIR® Options

Continuity of Care Documentation (CCD) and Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) are both healthcare industry standards for exchanging patient health information, with CCD being the more established.

CCD, in use since the mid-2000s, was developed as a part of the Health Level Seven International (HL7) standards, specifically HL7 CDA (Clinical Document Architecture) standard.

FHIR®, introduced in 2011, and developed by HL7, is a more recent standard designed to improve healthcare data exchange and interoperability.

Several key policies and initiatives, including the 21st Century Cures Act, the ONC Cures Act Final Rule, and the CMS Interoperability and Patient Access Rule, actively endorse and promote the further adoption of FHIR® as the standard of choice for healthcare data exchange.

NCQA supports organizations at every stage of their data quality journey. Connect with a representative today to see which option is the best fit for your organization.

NCQA works with organizations to ensure their data output adheres to the HL7 C-CDA R2.1 Implementation Guide in the June 2020 errata package, available on the HL7 C-CDA product page, or in the US Core Implementation Guide STU3 (v3.1.1 R4) available in the HL7 FHIR Implementation Guide Registry.

See Validated Organizations

View the organizations participating in NCQA’s Data Aggregator Validation program and see the report cards.

Data Aggregator Validation

NCQA’s Data Aggregator Validation Program evaluates clinical data streams to help ensure that health plans, providers, government organizations and others can trust the accuracy of aggregated clinical data.

EVALUATION PRODUCT

Data Aggregator Validation

STATUS

Validated Data Stream

NEXT REVIEW DATE

06/02/2024